Page 353 - American Stories, A History of the United States

BRITISH NORTH AMERICA
14.1 (CANADA) N.H.
VT.

OREGON MINNESOTA MASS.
Great Lakes
14.2 TERRITORY NEBRASKA TERRITORY WIS. N.Y.
TERRITORY MICH. R.I.
1854 PA. CONN.
WASHINGTON TERR.
IOWA OHIO Mason and N.J.
UTAH ILL. IND. Dixon Line DEL.
MD.
14.3 TERRITORY
KANSAS TERRITORY VA.
CALIFORNIA 1854 MO. KY.
Missouri Compromise Line N.C.
36°30' TENN.
NEW MEXICO INDIAN S.C.
TERRITORY TERRITORY ARK. GA.
MISS. ALA.
PACIFIC TEXAS LA. ATLANTIC
OCEAN OCEAN
FLA.
0 250 500 miles
0 250 500 kilometers Gulf of Mexico
MEXICO
Opened to slavery by principle of popular
Free state or territory
sovereignty, Compromise of 1850
Slave state or territory Opened to slavery by principle of popular
sovereignty, Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
MAp 14.2 tHe KANsAs-NebrAsKA ACt, 1854 The Kansas-Nebraska Act applied the principle of
popular sovereignty to voters in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, allowing them to decide for themselves
whether to permit slavery in their territories. The act repudiated the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had
Quick Check prohibited slavery in the territory of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30’ latitude.
Why did the Kansas Nebraska Act di-
vide the democratic party along sec-
tional lines and lead to the demise of to create a “Caribbean slave empire.” The resulting storm of protest forced Pierce and
the Whig party?
his cohorts to abandon their scheme.

Kansas and the Rise of the Republicans
The new Republican party was an outgrowth of the anti-Nebraska coalition of 1854. A
new political label was required because Free-Soil Democrats—who were important in
the Midwest—refused to march under the Whig banner or support any candidate for
high office who called himself a Whig.
During 1854–1855, some ex-Whigs had joined the short-lived nativist party known
as the “Know-Nothings.” The Know-Nothing party was founded in 1849 as an anti-
immigrant vehicle. Massive immigration of Irish and Germans, most of whom were
Catholic, led to increasing tension among ethnic groups during the 1840s and early
1850s. Native-born and even immigrant Protestants viewed the newcomers as bearers
of alien cultures. Political nativism first emerged in the form of local “American” par-
ties protesting immigrant influence in cities such as New York and Philadelphia. The
Know-Nothings sought to extend the period of naturalization to undercut immigrant
voting strength and keep aliens in their place.
When the Know-Nothing party split over the Kansas-Nebraska issue in 1856,
most northern nativists became Republicans. The Republican argument that the
“slave-power conspiracy” was a greater threat to American liberty and equality than
an alleged “popish plot” proved persuasive. But Republican nativists did not have
to abandon their ethnic and religious prejudices; the party showed a clear commit-
ment to the values of native-born evangelical Protestants. On the local level, Repub-
licans generally supported causes that reflected an anti-immigrant or anti-Catholic
bias—such as banning the sale of alcoholic beverages, observance of the Sabbath,
defense of Protestant Bible-reading in schools, and opposition to state aid for paro-
chial education.
The Republican leaders were seasoned professional politicians, men who had earlier
been prominent Whigs or Democrats. Adept at organizing the grass roots, building
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